Silo closure



Jan. 19, 1932. E. E. PRICE 1-;8'41,381

' SILO CLOSURE Filed Oct. 6, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 52 f'fg-i? For/f Price gwuentoz Jan. 19,1932. E. E. PRICE 1,841,381

' SILO CLOSURE Filed Oct. 6, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 '1, u u 10 u FIB Patented Jan. 19, 1932 '7 Heme EABL'E; Pit-16E, or mm mon rsmniiimsorh 1 Application filed fic toheirfi, 'mzs. s e ip o. 316394.

' My invention relatestosiloeloeure 21nd has for an object to provide aelosu're employing a U-shaped lever for lat'hiiig the door in place, which lever horinallyextends outwardly from said frame in'Suc'h a manner to serve as a step, which lever further may he completely detached from said frame to permit of removing the door bodily from the frame, and further serves as afhan'dlein handling the door, and particularly isueh closures as employ aframe of U-shapedcroes section adapted to fit iii'thefwall of the silt) 'closed through a door held in} firm corltaet with the edgesof saidframe. v I

Another object or the invention j resides in forming a rug onsaid step and providing a cam member on s aid frame adapted to .-;o'-'operate' With ,said lug for causing- V the door to be drawn closed upon theewingihg of said leverinto its extended position.

A still further object of the inventionresides in providing ears on said door arid in pivotally attaching said lever to said'ears by means of bolts extending therethrough'.

A still further object ofjhe invention relsides in employing in conjunction With'the closure means for moving'said lug" and cam relative to one another, said means serving to adjust said lug and eamunember relative to one another so as to vary thepres sureof the door upon the frame.

A feature of the invention resides inconstructing said cam member of Z shape'd cross-section and of attachnig the same throughon'e of the legs thereof tothe frame relation to the step attached .tosaid door and forming in conjunction therewith a ladder.

With the foregoing and other; 'o'hj ect'e' in iew, which will ap earlh the rllewifig desf cr ihed and claimed.

the dr wings;

and in the details of c nstrhctioh, hereinafter description, the invention resides in, the r hovel c'ombmatloh aiid arrangement of'parts .QFi gl is an elevati naljview of a silo l6-,

time emhodyingjone r rm or my'inventio lin 2 f Fig. 1.-

' Fig. 2 is a, plan sectioiial view talgefi (m v Fgga s'avertieal sectional View taken on r c line-8+3 scale, 1 ig: l tratihgjanother form of the ihyehtiofi,

er Fig. 1 an ddrawn to an enlarged;

v ,Fig. his; averticalsectional yiew taken on lme 5 -5 oflhg 4 and drawh toafi enlarged 1 In the constru tlon of S110 "clo ures con,- siderable' inconvenience has; been ehcoui'itered Where the closure requir s the us'eof r ore'th n one hand. in applying thesai e.

Inordinary practice the attenda t; usually requires ohe hand to hold himself in place 111")01'1 the ladder andheiic'e hasbut one hand free with which to handle the'door; and effect the closure thereof so as to seal the interior of h Silo- Withmy inv ntion the desired results can be readily obtained since the handlefatthc hed toth; door oper tes iipen aj simpledowriward movement to latch the doorih place and further serves as a step for use in climhirig upon thee'xt'eri or of the silo. My inv ntion pro er Consists" of a frame- A ad tedre be set into the wall off the S ihwh ich is mounteda ,olo'or' Bforflosihg the Opening through seidgfraine, This door'is' held closed by eans of a} latchiiig meehanis'm C whihh my be: conveniently mani ulated" by hand V and which serves to hold the [door in proper position. When the door B i u'il latched, the same'may be completely removed from the frame go as to rovide elefafr'op'eii iiig', there through for ac'c'esfs into the interior silo 'and for, the urpose of the removal of he e t r t e eof.- .v i j The frameA asfbest sh wfiin Eigs l and 3 *ompri'ses stiles 10 and 11', a header 12 e'fidfll threshold 13, which are preferably constructed of U-shaped cross-section formed with a web 1 1 and flanges and 16 extending outwardly therefrom in parallel relation. The header 12 and threshold 13 are preferably formed arcuate so as to cause the same to conform to the curvature of the silo when installed in a circular silo. The frame A may be constructed of sheet metal if desired, and

bent to form the flanges and properly united at the corners to form a rigid or unitary .con.-.

struction, or the same may be constructed of formed metal or cast or otherwise constructed.

The door B is preferably constructed of sheet metal which may be formed from a sin-- gle sheet of material and when, constructed 'of' sheet metal is preferably dished as indicated at 17 to provide a flange 18 extending completely around the outer periphery of the "same. Thedished portion 17 is of such a i it can be readily comprehended that the same may be constructed of wood, cast metal or 1 any other desirable material so long as the same has sufficient rigidity to cause the door to clamp tightly along the edges thereof when the latching mechanism C is applied to hold the door closed. Along the inner surface of jflange18 may be attached a sheet of metal 75'which serves as a sort of jacket forming a dead air space between it and the dished poition'17 which insulates the closure and prevents injury to the contents of the silo by frost.

For the purpose of attaching the latching device C to the door proper the following construction is employed: Intermediate the upper and lower edges of the door B adjacent the stiles 10 and 11 of the frame A are out, two vertical slots 20 and 21. Two attach ing members 22 and 23 are employed which are formed with bases 24 and ears extend ingfoutwardly therefrom. These ears are adapted to be passed through the slots 20 and 21 and the bases 24 are securely riveted or ,welded to the body of the door proper by means of rivets 26. The attaching members 22 and 23 may be constructed of T iron cut so as to form the ear 25 from the web thereof,

the remainder of the web being removed to formtheflange into the base 24 of said attaching members. When so constructed, the same are extremely rigid and will resist the stresses normally imposed thereon. By posithe door with the frame.

tioning the bases 24 of said members within the dished portions 17 of the door B the outer surface of the door is practically smooth except for the ears 25 extending outwardly therefrom. Due to the fact that the bases 24, extend completely around the ears 25 a tight joint is formed at the slots 20 and 21 so as to form an airtight connection between said ears and door. The bases 24 in addition serve to distribute the pressure upon the door more uniformly along the entire length of the flange 18 so that a perfect seal is eflected throughout the entire surface of contact of g It is to be noted that the frame is constructed of sufiicient rigidity so that the same does not give upon applying pressure to the cars 25 in order that the contact of theframe and the door be uniform throughout its extent.

The type of latching device C shown in the door is properly latched and said lever is disposed in its extended position. This lever may be constructed of a bar of metal bent into the desired form as shovm in Fig. 2, with arms 28 and 29 and a portion'30 connecting the same. .The extreme ends of the arms 28 and 29 are drilled to receive two bolts 31 and 32 which pass through slots 33 formed in the ears 25, which slots extend in an outward direction from the door proper. The burrs 34 for the said bolts bear against the ears 25 and serve to hold the lever 27 in pivotal relation upon thedoor proper. By meansof said slots23 the lever 27 may be moved inwardly and outwardly relative to the door B for a purpose to be presently described, the bolts 31 and 32 moving within the slots 33 which form the pivots on which the saidlever swings. The extreme ends of the ears 25 are bent toward one another to provide angular portions 35 which are drilled to receive set screws 36. These set screws are so disposed as to engage the burrs 34: of the bolts 31 and 32 so as to hold the said bolts in adjusted position within the slots 33. By means of these set screws the position of the bolts 31 and 32 may be adjusted so as to give the desired adjustment to the latching deviceas will be presently explained.

The latching device proper consists of a cam member 37 which is preferably formed of heavy sheet metal bent into Z-shaped cross-section as shown in Fig. 1 having two flanged portions 38 and 39 connected with a web portion 40. The cam members 37 are attached to the stiles 10 and 11 of the frame A with the flanges 38 thereof in contact with the web portions 14 of said frame and soc'urely riveted thereto by means of rivets 4C1. With'this arrangement the flanged portions 39 are offset from the surface of the web por- Mar tions14 of the stileslO and 11 as shownin Fig. 1. The flanged portions 39 of the two cam members 37 are cut away to form cam surfaces 42 shaped as best illustratedin Fig. 3. These cam surfaces are so designed-that when the door B is closed thesaid surfaces conform tospiralshavifig the centers thereof disposed at the pivots for the leverj27,' the upper portions of said cam surfaces ap-- preaching the centers ofthe spirals; On each of the arms 28 and 29 of the lever 27 is at'-' tached a lug 43 which is adapted to cooperate with its respective cam surface and to draw the door inwardly into closingposition upon swinging the lever 27 from its position illustrated, in dottedlines at 44in Fig. 3' to -its detach the step 27 from the door B, each; of

the cam members 37 is provided with a guard 46 which is formed on the fianged'portion 39- of said cam member and is disposed :outwardly from the cam surface 42. This guard in conjunction with the stop prevents the step from falling completelyaway from the frame A so as to prevent accident to theattendant upon stepping on an unsafe step.

In conjunction with thesteps 27 I employ auxiliary steps 47 and 48 whicharesimilar to the steps 27, being provided, with arms 49 and 50 and a connecting portion5l, .The arms. 49 and 50 are arranged to pass through slots 52 in the flanges 1510f the frame A nearthe upper and lower portions of the same and lie close to the inner surfaces of the webs, 14 of said frame where the said arms are riveted thereto through rivets 53. It will benoted that the steps 47 and 48 are angularly dis posed relative to the frame A so that when the closures are set in the silo the required distance apart said steps 47 and 48 of the various closures form the individual tinuous ladder. o In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown another form of the invention in which the step 27 1s d1- .r-ectly pivoted to the ears 25 through rivets or bolts 54, while the cam members arethemselves adjusted relative to the frame proper. For this purposea mounting .55 is employed which is attached to each of the stiles 10 and ll of frame A and is arranged with a wall 56 spaced from and substantially parallel to the web 14 of said stiles. These mountings are, constructed with angular portions 57 which extend across and are attached tothe rungs of a' cone flanges 15 of said stiles. In these mountings I are slidably mountedcastings 58 which have cam surfaces 42,.the same as the cam members '37 and-engage the lugs 43 of the lever 27 to cooperate in latching. the door in closed po-i along the wall 560i? the mounting 55 to adjust the same relative to the lugs 43. Thisis accomplished by'means of two bolts 59-which extend through: the angular port-ions 57 and i A 'are'threaded into the said castings. Byturning the said bolts T thev saidcastings may be adjusted as requiredp I In-13ig.; 6 I haveshown still .sition.- These-castings are adaptedto move another form of the :inventionin which the lever 27 instead of being constructed of bar material of rec tangular crossesection .is constructed of a round rod. l/Yhen so constructed the lugs 43 may be dispensedfwith and the rod offset as indicated at .160 a to form a member coop-er- 'ating with :the cam surfaces'42. lVitli this form ofcthe inventiontheQends 61 of the rod 60 may be threaded'and attached to' angle pieces 62 by means of nuts 63. These angle pieces. are pivoted through rivets 64 to the ears .25.-and serve topermit of swingingthe lever 27 so as to cause the'portion 60 to engage of the invention. 7

The inventionv is highly.

thecam surfaces 42 aswiththe other. forms meritorious in that the device niay. be, easily handled by the attendant and quickly and efl'ect-ively, inserted into closed position and effectively closed toseal thefinterior. of the silo. The closing movement of thelatchingdevice with the in.- vention isa downward movement such as is easily accomplished by the, attendant. while clinging to the rungs of theladder- Upon removing the doorv from the frame the? same may be held andhandled through thesame lever usedifor lockingthe closure in closing 1 position. Tl-he entire devicemay be constructed of sheet metal. and bar material of such shapes-as are readily available in theinarket and canbeconstructed sufiiciently light so as to. reduce the cost without sacrificing as to the strengthand rigidity 'of the. structure at the same timebeing light and easyto handle. All of the stepsbeing attached directly to the closure the, laborinvolved iuinstalling stepsin conjunction with thesilo arecompl-etely eliminated. Due to the fact 1 that some of thesteps are permanently fastened to the. frame,.t he attendanthas at alljtimesia number. of steps available forclimbing the s lowhetlier the doors are removed oruin place. Ad ustmentof the latching device can closed position so as to secure .the' desired pressure upon the door proper necessary for effecting the degree of seal desired, g Changes in the specific form of 'myinvention, asghere'in disclosed, may be made within thescope of what is claimedwithout depart ing from the spirit ofmyinventionp; i

be readily accomplishedwhilethe door is in Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: V

1. A silo closure comprising a frame, a

door adapted to seat against said frame,-an

ear formed on said door, a lever pivoted to said ear and extending outwardly from said frame to form a step, a cam member attached to said frame, cam engaging means formed on said lever and cooperating with said cam member for drawing the door inwardly against said frame upon the swinging of said lever into extended position, and a guard attached to said cam member cooperating with said cam engaging means for holding said lever from falling in the event of the detachment of the same from said ears.

2. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, a lever pivoted to said door and extending outwardl'y from said frame to form a step, a cam member of Z-shaped cross-section having one of the legs thereof attached to said frame and the other of the legs thereof extending outwardly from said frame in offset relation thereto, said second leg being formed with a cam surface, a member on said lever adapted to engage said cam surface. for drawing said door closed upon the'swinging of said leverinto outwardly extended position, said member extending past the cam surface and into the space formed through the offset in said cam member.

3. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, a lever pivoted to said door and extending outwardly from said frame to form a step, a cam member of Z-shaped cross-section having one of the legs thereof attached to said frame and the other of the legs thereof extending outwardly from said frame in offset relation thereto, said second leg being formed with a cam surface, a member on said lever adapted to engage said cam surface for drawing said door closed upon the swinging of said lever into outwardly extended position, said last named member extending past the cam surface and into the space formed through the offset in said cam member, and means for moving one of said members relative to the other for regulating the pressure of said door upon said frame.

4. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, a lever pivoted to said door and extending outwardly from said frame to form a step, a cam member of Z-shaped cross-section having one of the legs thereof attached to said frame and the other of the legs thereof extending outwardly from said frame in offset relation thereto, said second leg being formed with a cam surface, a member on said lever adapted to engage said cam surface for drawing said door closed upon the swinging of said lever into outwardly extended position, said ber formed on said door having an outwardly extending slot therein, a lever pivotally connected to said member having a pintle pass ing through said slot, a screw threaded in said member for engagement with said pintle for holding the same in adjusted position within said slot, and means cooperating with said lever for drawingsaid door in closed position, the adjustment of said pintle within said slot serving to vary the relation of saidmeans to control the pressure of said door upon the frame.-

(3. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, a pair of cars formed on said door intermediatethe upper and lower ends thereof positioned adjacent the sides of said frame, said ears having outwardly extending slots formed therein, a U-shaped lever straddling said ears and being adapted to normally extend through the opening in said frame and outwardly therebeyond to form a step, pintles passing through the ends of said lever and through said slots for pivotally mounting said lever on said ears, screws threaded in said ears and adapted to engage said pintles for holding the same in adjusted position within said slots, cam members formed on said frame adjacent the side portions of said lever and means formed on said lever cooperating with said cam members to draw the door closed upon movement of said lever into extended position,'said cam engaging means being adjustable relative to said cam members through the movement ofsaid pintles within the respective slots in said ears.

7. A silo closure comprising a frame of U-shaped cross-section having a web and flanges, a door adapted to seat against one of the flanges of said frame, a U-shaped step pivoted to said door near its center and extending through the opening in said frame and along the web thereof and outwardly beyond the other of said flanges, said second 'flange being formed with apertures near its upper end in close proximity to the web and a second step extending through said apertures and attached to said web, said second step being angularly disposed relative to said first step.

8'. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame and having a slot therethrough, a T-shaped attaching member having the outstanding leg thereof extending through said slot with the base thereof resting upon one side of said door, a lever pivoted to the protruding end of the leg of said attaching member, and

means cooperating therewith for drawing said door into engagement with said frame.

9. A silo closure comprising a frame, a"

door adapted to seat against said frame and disposed within-the interior of the silo, said door having a slot extending therethrough, a T-shaped attaching member having the outstanding leg thereof extending through said'slot and the basethereof positioned upon the interior of the door, a lever pivoted to the protruding end of the leg of said attach ing member and extending through said frame, and means on said frame forengagement with said lever to draw" said door against said frame.

10.Asilo closurecompr-ising a frame, a

door adapted to seat against said frame, attaching means secured llO'Sflld door,- a lever pivoted to said attaching-means, a member" on said lever, a second member on said frame cooperating with said other member, one of said members having a cam surface,means' for guiding the member on said lever for movement toward-and from sald door to vary the contacting position of said members,"the

member on said lever beingimmovable relative thereto during the operation-of said lever.

11. A s lo closure comprising aframe, a

.door adapted to seat against said frame, at-

taching meanssecured to said door, a lever. pivoted to said attaching means, amember on said lever, a secondmember onsaid frame cooperating withsaid lever-,one of said memlbers havinga cam surface, means for guiding the end of said lever for movement toward and from the door to'vary the position of said memberswith *respect to one another,

the member on said lever being immovable the member on saidlever beingimmovable relative to said lever, and the member on said frame being immovable relative to said frame during the operation of said lever.

13. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, attaching means formed on said door, a lever pivoted to said attaching means and. extending outwardly from said door and past said frame, a member formed on said lever and,

extending outwardly to one side thereof, a member formed on said frame and extending in the plane of movement of the membernon said lever, and means for moving-one of said members relative to the other to vary the relative positions'thereof,

14. A silo closure comprising a frame, door adapted-to seatagainst said frame, at-

taching means formedonsaiddoor, a lever" V pivoted to said attaching means, a cam mem} ber attached to 'saidiframe, meansformedon 0 SH-Kl lever and cooperating. with said cam;

member" for drawing the door against the frame'npon the swinging of sald lever, and a guard attached to said cam member cooperat+ ing with said cam engaging means on said lever for holdingsaid lever from falling in means, said guard being detached from saidcam atone end'to permit of the complete dis" guard. I

15. A' silo closure'compri'sing a frame, a i V door adapted to'seatagainstsai fr l taching means formed on said door, a lever the event of detachment from said attaching engagement of said lever from said cam and d pivoted to-sa'id attaching means, amember on sai'djlever, means onsaid frame cooperate ing therewith fordraw'ing said door against said frame upon the swinging of said lever,- and a guard attached to said frame and co-.

operating with themembe'r on said lever for holding said lever from movement relative to the frame inthe eventiof detachment of the same from said attaching means: a I

16; A "silo-closure comprlsmg a 1 portion thereof offset from the frame, aca'm" rame,'*a door adaptedto seat against said frame, at;- taching means formed on said door, a lever pivoted to said attaching means, a plate' -likef member attached to said frame and-havinga formed; along the edge of, said'offset portion,

and-meanson said lever' engaging said cam 3 v 1 for drawing said door against said frame.

- 17. A silo-closure comprising a"frame,'a door adapted'to seat against said frame, at-

taching'means formed on said door,a lever 10'5" pivoted-to said attaching, means andadapted to be swung-"outwardlyfrom said, frame to form a step, members on. saidlever and frame co-operating with onefanother to draw said door-closed when the leverl's swung into e gtended position, a stop formed on the meni-fii ber mounted on'said frame and adapted to'fengage'the lever, to hold the lever in "extended" position; a'nd meansfor adjustingone ofsaid membersrelative to the other to vary the pres sure upon the doorand to bring said leverinto proper extended position to engage said stop I when the proper pressure-has been procured upon'the door.

'18-. 1A jsiloiclosure "frame, 1

door adapt'edlto seat againstsaid frame, ,attaehingmeans formed on said door, a'lever pivoted to said attaching means and adapted to be swungoutwardly from: said frameto form a step, acamni'emb r; attachedtosaid frame, a cam engaging member formed'on-f'f.

said 7 lever" and ljcooperating'" with said'lcam member for drawing the door 'jlnwardly,

against said frame upon theswingingofthe lever into extended position, a stop formed on g said lever against said stop when the lever said cam member-for engaging said lever to hold the lever in Q-XGBHClQCl position, and means for adjusting one of said members to vary the pressure upon the door and to bring 15 in proper extended position.

19. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, attaching means formed on said door, a lever pivoted to said attaching means and swingable in a plane substantially at right angles to the-plane of said door, members on said lever and frame cooperating with one another to draw said door closed, and means for guiding one of said members for movement in the plane of movement-of said lever to vary the relative position of said members and the resultant pressure upon the door.

20. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, attaching means formed on'said door, a'lever pivoted to said attaching means andswmgable in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said door, a cam member and a cam engaging member, one thereof being on said lever and the other thereof being on said frame and cooperating with one another to draw said door closed upon the swinging of said lever, means for guiding one of said members for movement in the 21. A silo closure comprising a frame, a

door adapted to seat against said frame,

attaching means formed on said door, alever, a fixed pivot for pivoting said lever to said attaching means, a latching member on i said lever adapted to cooperate with said frame for drawing said door into closing position, and means for varying the distance between said latch means and pivot to vary the pressure upon said door.

22. A silo closure comprising a frame, a

door adapted to seat against said frame, a le-1 ver pivoted to said door and extending out- Wardly from said frame to form a step,

cooperating with said cam member for drawing the door inwardly against said frame upon the swinging of the lever into extended position, and a guard attached to said cam member-cooperating with said cam engaging means for holding said lever from falling in the event of the detachment of the same from said attaching means.

23. A silo closure'ccmprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, attaching means secured to said door, a lever pivoted to said attaching means, a member on said lever, a second member on said frame cooperating with said other member, one of said members having a cam surface,means for guiding the member on said frame for movement toward and from said door to varythe contacting positionof said members, the member on said lever being immovable relative thereto during the operation of said lever.

24. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted'to seat against said frame, a lever pivoted'to said'door, a member on said frame having a cam portion spaced from said frame, a member on said lever adapted to engage said cam member for drawing the door closed, said member extending past the cam member and into the space between the cam member and frame. 7

25. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, a lever pivoted to-said door, a guide secured to said frame, a member slidable along said guide, a member on said lever, one of said bers cooperating to draw the door into closed position, and means for holding said member upon the frame in adjusted position relative to the frame. V .7

26. A silo closure comprising a frame, a door adapted to seat against said frame, a lever pivoted to said door, a guide secured tosaid frame, a member slidable along said guide, a-member on said. lever, one of said members having a cam surface, said members'cooperating to drawthe door into closed position, and a screw for adjusting the position of said member 011 the frame along said guide "to varythe pressure upon said door.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature to this specification.

E. PRICE. 

